RE: Dancing Like An Idiot

When one is in a band that is relatively established, and they want to convey something that they feel strongly about, perhaps they should really think about how they’re doing it. At some point, somebody should have made this very clear to Bayside. To release a song like “Dancing Like An Idiot” is one thing, but when you release a press statement that talks about “tearing apart bullshit Warped Tour Bands,” I think you’re at a point where you should really take a step back and look at the bigger picture here.

When I think of Warped Tour, I think of the same thing that a lot of people do. Acceptance. Seeing a band with a name that bears as much weight as Bayside’s completely tear apart artists they don’t like and don’t agree with kind of blows me away. Do I understand where they’re coming from? Absolutely. Do I share some of the same feelings? Maybe. Would I ever go out of my way to make sure that whatever audience I have knew that I felt these artists were bullshit? No. It’s simple. If you don’t like it, don’t talk about it. It boils down to having respect for people that have taken the same path in life as you. Whether they have gone about it in the same way…well, that’s none of your business.

In the grand scheme of things I’m not talking about anything serious or politically unjust. I’m talking about a band writing a song and releasing a lyric video over something as petty as not wanting to share a festival with bands they don’t like.

You don’t accomplish very much when you tackle these things so publicly. You’re going to see outcry like mine, you’re going to see people get mad at your band, and you’re going to direct people towards the very bands you’re mad at them for listening to. The only thing that I can really give Bayside in this situation is that they were smart enough to not name names. Instead, they opted to not-so-subtly work band logo fonts into their lyric videos. I also find myself cringing at lines like “You’re basically One Direction if they all had throat tattoos.” It’s time to stop being so jaded, I’m begging you. People were so up in arms over that New Found Glory music video that poked fun at Five Seconds of Summer. This should elicit the same reaction.

I get it, I really do. I’m not in love with the idea of kids running around in “SUCK MY FUCK” t-shirts and listening to bands like Atilla, but I accept that it happens. I look at these bands as stepping stones, or better, phases these kids are going through when trying to find themselves musically. We all go through that. Just ask the Joel Funk of 2008 that was really into The Ready Set, Owl City, and Sayloudshoutlouder!

Those artists may not be as offensive as the Atilla’s of the world, but the point remains. They’re going to grow out of these things and it’s going to take some time. So while you wait for that day to come, it’s time to put your big boy pants on and stop complaining about what bands you have to share a stage with. At the end of the day, all your complaints are doing is giving them the attention they don’t deserve.